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The royal angelfish (''Pygoplites diacanthus''), or regal angelfish, is a species of marine
ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...
, a marine angelfish belonging to the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Pomacanthidae Marine angelfish are perciform fish of the family Pomacanthidae. They are found on shallow reefs in the tropical Atlantic, Indian, and mostly western Pacific Oceans. The family contains seven genera and about 86 species. They should not be co ...
, and the
monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Pygoplites''. It is found in
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
oceans. It can grow as long as .


Description

The body of the royal angelfish is moderately elongate and is very compressed. The preorbital bone is convex and has no strong spines. There is 1 prominent spine at an angle at the preopercal. The ventral edge of the interopercle is smooth. The eyes are moderately small along with the mouth that is terminal. The mouth is also protractile. They have a maximum length of . They have a total of 14 dorsal spines, and 17–19 soft dorsal rays. They have 3 anal spines and 17–19 anal soft rays. They also have 16–17 pectoral fin rays. Their caudal fin is rounded. The precise coloration of this fish can vary as regional differences can occur, most notably in populations from the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
,
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
, and
South Pacific Ocean South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
. A commonality, however, is a body edged in narrow blue-white and orange stripes that are narrow and angle backward. The posterior portion of dorsal fin is black or blue with close-set blue dots, and the posterior portion of anal fin has alternating yellow and blue bands running parallel to body contour. The caudal fin is yellow. Juveniles are colored with a large dark spot on basal portion of the soft dorsal fin. They have been reported of living 15 years. Recent research indicates that the ''Pygoplites'' comprises two morphs, with the variants potentially hybridizing at
Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
. File:1 Pygoplites diacanthus.jpg, (Indian Ocean) File:Pygoplites diacanthus 01.jpg, (Red Sea) File:Reef2126 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg, (Indo-Pacific)


Distribution

The royal angelfish is widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific. The species can be found in the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
and
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
around
East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
and the
Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
, stretching to the Tuamoto Islands,
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, and
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
. The northernmost limits of its range ends in the southern
East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...
around
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and the
Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...
and
Ogasawara Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total area of but only two of the islands are permanen ...
of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.


Ecology

The royal angelfish occurs at depths ranging from , in coral rich areas of lagoons, reefs, and are also often found in the vicinity of caves. It is a carnivorous species that feeds on sponges and tunicates located throughout reefs and underwater caves. They are a non-migratory species that can be found solitary, in pairs, or groups. The juveniles usually shelter in cracks and crevices.


History

The royal angelfish was first formally described in 1772 by the Dutch naturalist
Pieter Boddaert Pieter Boddaert (1730 – 6 May 1795) was a Dutch physician and naturalist. Early life, family and education Boddaert was the son of a Middelburg jurist and poet by the same name (1694–1760). The younger Pieter obtained his M.D. at the Univers ...
, it has been the subject of 18th and 19th century zoological art.


Human uses

The royal angelfish is considered to be harmless to humans, and has minor commercial use in the aquarium industry. It is valued by aquarium hobbyists for being one of the few "reef safe" angelfish as its diet is composed primarily of sponges, and does not include corals.


In the aquarium

The royal angelfish can be challenging to keep in captivity, a healthy specimen that is given the right environment will likely start feeding within days when fed a variety of live, frozen, and flake or freeze-dried foods to entice satiety. A hostile environment will directly counter acclimation and feeding efforts. As such, large angelfish,
triggerfish Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest speci ...
, puffers, as well some overly aggressive
clownfish Clownfishes or anemonefishes (genus ''Amphiprion'') are saltwater fishes found in the warm and tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. They inhabit mainly coral reefs and have a distinctive colouration typically consisting of white vertical bars on ...
and
surgeonfish Acanthuridae are a family (biology), family of ray-finned fish which includes surgeonfishes, tangs, and Naso (fish), unicornfishes. The family includes about 86 Extant taxon, extant species of ocean, marine fish living in tropical seas, usually ...
should be avoided.


Reproduction

Royal angelfish reproduce by spawning, spawning usually happens at dusk or at night. They then act in a spiraling dance before the eggs and sperm are released into the upper water column.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:angelfish, royal royal angelfish Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean royal angelfish royal angelfish